


The Bodyguard

by ilandalandan



Category: ENHYPEN (Band), I-LAND (Korea TV)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Angst, Drama, Eventual Romance, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Family, Gun Violence, Humor, M/M, Sunghoon and Kei are Stepbrothers, Undercover as a Couple
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:41:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27060640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilandalandan/pseuds/ilandalandan
Summary: Jay’s job as a secret agent is exactly how he likes it: uncomplicated because he doesn’t need to get too close to anyone. But no thanks to a shortage of agents, his firm’s Witness Protection Division decides to give him an additional assignment in the form of Park Sunghoon. Already in the middle of an important undercover case, he has no choice but to take the guy under his wing and assign Sunghoon a disguise of his own: boyfriend.
Relationships: Kim Sunoo/Nishimura Riki | Ni-ki, Ngô Ngọc Hưng | Hanbin/Wang Yixiang | Nicholas, Park Jongseong | Jay/Park Sunghoon, Yudai Koga | Kei (I-LAND)/Shim Jaeyoon | Jake
Comments: 25
Kudos: 65





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **I know my WIPs are piling up but... yeah. ~~Everything is on hold until I finish this one.~~ This is going to be about ten chapters long, ~~and I'll be updating every other day.~~ Let me know what you think and enjoy!**
> 
> **EDIT: I'm a lying liar who lies. I can't abandon everything else lol**

There were a total of four people seated around the table in the Park family’s dining room, but only two of them were going to die. The sniper’s instructions had been very clear: leave the young men alone. The sons were to be kept alive for the purpose of profit, and it was of utmost importance that they weren’t physically harmed. He wasn’t privy to all the details, but from what he’d gathered, the Parks had insulted his client’s boss in the past when he’d been a nobody. They’d crossed paths again and rather recently, the Park couple had apologized, but it wasn’t enough—he wanted the children to suffer on behalf of their parents who deserved to die. 

_Sorry,_ the sniper thought to himself while he waited for the Parks to finish what appeared to be a celebratory dinner of some sort, patient and unmoving as he watched the family’s final evening unfold from the scope of his rifle. _But someone has to do the dirty work._

It was a shame because they looked like a genuinely happy family, with laughter a constant thing where the household was concerned. The Parks seemed to have an endless amount of reasons to smile at each other, and how unfortunate it was that everything was going to end in blood and tears. But that was simply the nature of life, and death was everybody’s ultimate destination. It was hardly a matter of how one died—the _how_ was insignificant. More important was the _when,_ and for Mr. and Mrs. Park, it was here and now. 

With a precise aim shaped by years of practice and experience, the sniper nailed the double kill with a couple of shots, each one to the head. 

_Done._

He sent the pre-composed text message even though it wasn’t necessary, wanting a confirmation in words rather than just the sound of gunfire, which was the signal of the team below to break into the Park home. Unsurprisingly, he received no response but didn’t wait for one as he packed up quickly and efficiently. A ruckus began from the distance, but the sniper didn’t pause in what he was doing to look. Today’s job was complete, and whatever happened to the remaining members of the Park family was no longer any of his concern. 

Leaving no trace behind him, the sniper left the scene of the crime as if he’d never been there at all. 

**_Nine hours ago…_ **  
Park Sunghoon was aware that he was luckier than a lot of other people. Knowing was one thing and realizing another however, as this fact hadn’t been a sudden epiphany that came out of nowhere. Instead, it was more a painstaking journey that began so long ago that it was confusing sometimes, trying to remember _before_ with its missing pieces and often distorted moments. Clawing through the past was no easy feat, and his memory alone was unreliable at best or untrustworthy at worst. Filling the blanks left by time and trying to figure out who said what and when, or the sequence of events as they unfolded, were all difficult. But Sunghoon did know one thing.

It all began the day he and his dad discovered they were second best in his mom’s life. 

It was excruciatingly painful, not to mention humiliating, to lose his mom to a man who wasn’t his dad. And rubbing salt to the wound, worse was the fact that said man was someone she was legally married to and had children with. It had broken Sunghoon to know that he and his dad were the illegitimate family. Even without knowing, despite having had no idea, it was still a terrible thing to find out that they were the reason another family was suffering no thanks to the selfish actions of one woman who wanted it all.

What Sunghoon learned after all that drama and with much reflection was that things could’ve been so much worse. With the heartbreak that such a revelation had caused his dad, he could’ve easily ended up losing both parents instead of just one, _but he hadn’t._ He was thankful for that. Grieving, becoming heavily depressed, sinking lower than he had ever seen him do so, but his dad had picked himself right back up and continued being his father. It had been rough, sure—shouting and tears, broken things, hurtful words—but in the aftermath, things had ended as well as it could. He and his dad hadn’t lost everything, still had each other, and that was the most important thing. 

But there was more to gain, and at the time, they hadn’t known it just yet. 

When they moved after what happened and Sunghoon had to switch schools, his dad met who would become his stepmom during a PTA meeting: kind and soft-spoken Ms. Yudai who had assisted a harried Mr. Park after he ended up getting lost in the numerous hallways of the school trying to find the auditorium. Finding a commonality in the form of being single parents, the two had bonded and what started out as polite small talk eventually turned into a long conversation that involved a lot more than topics related to their children _and_ included an exchange of phone numbers. Sunghoon hadn’t been old enough to notice then, but he knew it now—how the extra skip to his dad’s step, his more frequent smiles, and the improvement to his overall disposition was all because of a woman who already had a son of her own. 

A son who eventually became Sunghoon’s stepbrother. 

That had been the biggest adjustment of his life, in Sunghoon’s opinion—getting used to sharing everything, even his dad, to Yudai Kei. As someone who grew up as an only child, it was jarring to suddenly be put in a situation where he had to think of somebody else aside from himself. How did one care for someone they didn’t know? Simple: by giving it time and exerting some effort. Eventually, Sunghoon came to love his older brother. It hadn’t been hard at all. In fact, the Yudais were a surprisingly easy fit on the empty spaces that the Park family didn’t know they had in life, their kindness a soothing balm to the painful wounds that reopened sometimes and during specific days of the year. Never had Sunghoon expected to ever have a family aside from his dad again, and it was funny, how things worked out sometimes. 

Fifteen years later, and things hadn’t changed one bit. 

Sunghoon was still a lucky guy. 

“They’re crying,” Kei announced as he sat down on his spot for breakfast, looking from Sunghoon to their dad with an exasperated smile before glancing back at the kitchen, separated from the dining area by a countertop, to speak to their mom. “Just like you said they would because it’s your anniversary—they’re crying!”

Hastily wiping his tears away, Sunghoon sat up straighter in his chair. Talking about the past just because they were realizing the significance of what was happening today made Sunghoon and his dad emotional men. The Parks were easy to laugh was true, but easier was to make them cry. 

“I yawned,” Sunghoon lied with a sniff, though he was smiling. “It was—it was because I yawned!”

His stepmom walked over, carrying a serving plate with her that Kei immediately took so he could place it atop the dining table himself. Smiling indulgently at Sunghoon, she then turned to her husband with an inquiring raise of a brow as she approached him. 

“And you? What’s your excuse?”

Sunghoon’s dad hadn’t even bothered to wipe his tears away, openly weeping though smiling a big happy grin as he opened his arms to his wife. “I have no excuse except for being happy that we made it to our fifteenth wedding anniversary.”

“Which means dinner is on us,” Kei proclaimed cheerfully, turning to Sunghoon who nodded with childish eagerness. “We’ve got something special planned!” 

“It’ll be the best anniversary dinner you’ve ever had!” 

Sunghoon was beaming as he said the words, neither he nor the rest of his family knowing that it was also going to be the last. Luck could only last so long, and unfortunately for them, what was left of their good luck was about to run out. 

  
  


**_Five hours ago…_ **  
Shaking the contents of a manila envelope out and onto his lap, Sunoo skipped the pieces of paper with nothing but text on them and went straight to the photos. He whistled as he picked one up, staring at the picture of a handsome young man. 

“He’s cute.” He turned the photo in his hand to look at the flipside before showing it to his partner who gave it only a short glance since he was busy behind the wheel. “Isn’t he? This one’s Yudai Kei.”

“He’s okay,” Niki replied in an offhand manner, pushing his dark hair back and away from his face as he leaned back against the driver’s seat a little more comfortably. “What about the brother? He has a younger brother right? Park Sunghoon is the name, I think.”

“Stepbrother,” Sunoo corrected, going through three more photos and picking one up with another whistle. “And he’s really pretty! Look!”

Niki extended a hand out to look at the photo himself, glancing down at it and letting his eyes roam. He shrugged and handed it back, focusing on the road again. 

“Not bad.”

Sunoo rolled his eyes. “You’re so hard to please.”

“What can I say?” Niki smirked, turning to his boyfriend with a wink. “I have pretty high standards.”

“That you do,” Sunoo agreed with a hum, eyes scanning the document in his hands with a growing frown. “This is disgusting. They’re already bidding on them. Lots of perverts wanting to get a hold of these pretty boys—and for such ridiculous amounts too. I don’t get it.”

Niki lost the smirk on his lips, stepping on the gas with a quick check of his watch. ETA two hours. Hopefully, they didn’t get stuck in traffic or hopelessly lost. The information they were able to gather had been limited and very general, not to mention incomplete. That was one of the consequences of getting into the action too late. 

“We’re not going to let anything happen to them.”

  
  


**_Three hours ago…_ **

_Connecting to secure server, please wait…_

_Enter access code: ********_   
_Enter password: ******_

_Access granted, please standby…_   
_Welcome back Agent P. J. S._

_Starting secure chat now, please wait..._

_**PARK JS:** Responding to code 3-67469. Where do you need me? _

_**MAIN:** We need you on a case ASAP. _

_**PARK JS:** I’m already handling one. _

_**MAIN:** We understand, but this is important. We need you on a second case. _   
_**MAIN:** Everyone is out on the field, and we need someone with experience to handle this. _

_**PARK JS:** Details? _

_**MAIN:** Sent to your secure email. The email will be from the Witness Protection Division. Please confirm once you’ve read and understood the documents. _   
_**MAIN:** We need you at the safe house by the time indicated on file, sharp. _

_**PARK JS:** Witness Protection? _   
_**PARK JS:** I don’t do witness protection. _

_**MAIN:** Now you do, agent. _

_**PARK JS:** Files received. _   
_**PARK JS:** Give me thirty minutes. _

_**MAIN:** You have to leave now. _   
_**MAIN:** Review the details on the way. _   
_**MAIN:** That’s an order. _

_**PARK JS:** Understood. _   
_**PARK JS:** Copy and out. _

_Secure chat disconnected._   
_Closing connection…_

_Have a good day, Agent._

  
  


**_Forty five seconds ago…_ **   
_“Black car, no plate. Ten o’clock.”_

Adjusting his socks and pretending to stretch in preparation for a nighttime jog, Sunoo replied with his lips barely moving, making sure his gaze wasn’t obvious as he allowed it to sweep along the street before him including the car in question. 

“I see it," he replied as he rolled his shoulders. With the earphones he had on, it merely appeared as though he was singing along to whatever he was listening to. "I remember this model. We passed the same one a few streets back. No plate either. They have backup."

From the earpiece he had hiding in his left ear, Sunoo could hear Niki typing rapidly, his sigh frustrated. _“Where the hell is Taki and Daniel… we need back up too.”_

“Maybe we should just—"

The sharp crack that two bullets made in the air caused Sunoo to freeze from doing jumping jacks, his words dying in his throat. All pretense gone, his gaze flew from the car waiting a few houses away to the Park family home. The sound of breaking glass that followed was clear as day in such a quiet neighborhood, distinct in its loudness. _A window._

“It’s a sniper!”

_“I heard it too, go get them now!”_

Sunoo broke into a run, not caring that his cover was blown, and in his wake he heard muffled gunshots, silenced by suppressors, that he could only guess was meant for him. But he was too fast, and they—whoever _they_ was supposed to be—reacted too late. Reaching a closed front door, he grabbed the handgun he’d been hiding in his oversized jacket and shot the knob off. _One, two, three_ shots. 

_“Taki and Daniel are almost here!”_

Sunoo kicked the door several times, wood groaning and splintering under his shoes, rushing inside the house as soon as the door swung open with a bang on the wall. Following the sound of anguished shouts, cries of _eomma_ and _appa,_ with his heart thudding painfully fast in his chest, he paused as he reached the dining area, gaze honing in on the two bodies lying on the floor: a man and a woman, aged. 

_Mr. and Mrs. Park._ Which meant—

“They’re not hurt but their parents are dead,” Sunoo reported, staring at the young men who were kneeling on the floor, faces ashen and drenched with tears, their hands bloodstained and shaking. He didn’t want to do this, didn’t want to take them away from their parents, but the priority was to keep them alive. They could mourn all they wanted later. “Kei and Sunghoon right? You’ll be as good as dead if we don’t get out of here. _Now.”_

But of course that was the exact moment a rain of bullets began to descend from the kitchen windows, forcing Sunoo to dive downwards and onto the floor with a curse. 

_“Shit!”_

Not thirty minutes away and already waiting in the vicinity of a safe house, a lone man receives a message on his mobile phone with a familiar set of numbers.

**_TO: PARK JS_ **   
_CODE 3-67469_   
_BACKUP NEEDED ONSITE ASAP_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Sorry for the wait and I hope you enjoy! Happy holidays!**

_No no no no no—_

Sunghoon had no idea what to do, not with so much blood in his hands and his parents bleeding on the floor. 

_This can’t be happening, not to him, not to his family no—_

“Sunghoon-ah! _Sunghoon-ah!”_

Hearing Kei was one thing, but understanding him was another. He sounded far away. Sunghoon was finding it difficult to focus, his ears ringing as he stared at the blood coating his hands. _His parents were dead. They were gone, just like that._ No, just no. It wasn’t possible. 

“Kei and Sunghoon right? You'll be as good as dead if we don’t get out of here. _Now.”_

The sound of bullets was what pulled Sunghoon back, a body slamming against him as they fell flat on the floor. Blinking rapidly, only then did everything come back in full color, full sound. 

“Sunghoon-ah! Are you ok? Answer me!” 

Kei. It was Kei-hyung. _He still had his Kei-hyung._

“Hyung,” he mumbled, helpless, looking up at Kei’s distraught face as tears welled up in his eyes. “Hyung, eomma… appa…”

“We can’t stay here!”

Sunghoon’s body was acting by itself, muscles going taut in fight and flight as he turned towards the foreign voice. There was a boy, probably around Kei’s age, who like them was nearly flat on the floor. He was wearing jogging gear and carrying a gun, talking both to them and _not_ to them. 

“I know Niki-yah, I know! Wait, what? _No!_ Tell them not to—”

“Who are you?” Kei demanded then, arm outstretched to keep Sunghoon behind him as they stared at the gun-wielding stranger who had come from nowhere. “Who are you talking to?”

“No time to explain,” the boy replied, pushing himself up in a crawling position on the floor with a shake of his head. “Kei, Sunghoon, we have to get out of the kitchen. It’s gonna blow!”

“What? What do you—”

Sunghoon was given only two more seconds to look at the lifeless bodies of his parents where they were on the floor, drenched in each other’s blood, before he found himself being dragged away by Kei. He’d missed part of the conversation, ears ringing anew at the sight of all the crimson red, just as the deafening sound of gunfire grew closer, this time paired with urgent shouts. 

_“We have to go!”_

A sharp slap to his cheek, and Sunghoon blinked again, staring up at Kei who was looking down at him, this time in worry. He got dragged by the collar and into a crouch, the movements rough and his step brother’s voice even more so. 

“Now isn’t the time to lose it Sunghoonie,” he whispered, urgent, as they started to crab crawl towards—towards the backyard? _But why?_ “Stay with me. Stay with me!”

The other boy was on the lead, his knuckles white with how tightly he was clutching his gun, ushering them in front of himself. Who was he? And more importantly, what was he doing here and why did he have a weapon _while_ going out for a night jog? 

“I need ten more seconds! At least ten— _GET DOWN!”_

There was a loud and foreign sound in the air, and then, without warning, an explosion that threw Sunghoon against Kei. Disoriented and trying to scramble for purchase on anyone, anything, he could vaguely hear a muffled, pained voice: 

_“I told you not to let them use the rocket launcher...”_

That was the last thing that Sunghoon heard before everything went dark.

* * *

Sunghoon woke up to the muffled sound of a radio playing an old Western song. 

It sounded far off, like it was in another room with the door open so the vocals were still understandable. The volume was turned down though, low enough to still be enjoyable but soft so as not to disturb like some kind of muffled, far away dream. 

_A man in my shoes runs a light_  
_And all the papers lied tonight_  
_But falling over you_  
_Is the news of the day_

Eyes still closed and body heavy as if his bones were made of lead, it took a while for Sunghoon to detach from the lyrics to hear the conversation underneath it all. 

“Why won’t you tell me anything?”

_That was Kei-hyung._

“It’ll be easier once your brother wakes up. We can explain things once, and to both of you.”

_Angels fall like rain_  
_And love is all of heaven away_

His memories before becoming unconscious came back ever so slowly, though thankfully the ringing in his ears didn’t make a comeback. In its place however, was a hollowness where his heart was supposed to be. He knew exactly what he’d lost tonight or whenever right now was. 

His parents. 

_Inside you the time moves_  
_And she don't fade_  
_The ghost in you_  
_She don't fade_  
_Inside you the time moves_  
_And she don't fade_

Sunghoon blinked his eyes open to an unfamiliar ceiling, sitting up slowly and shaking the dredges of sleep pulling him back to look around him. He was in a basic bedroom with a side table and a lamp, a small dresser, and two doors off to the side. One of them was ajar, and it was where the music and the conversation was coming from. 

_A race is on I'm on your side_  
_And hearing you my engines die_  
_I'm in a mood for you_  
_For running away_

Swinging his feet onto the side of the bed and soles connecting with the cool wooden flooring, Sunghoon shivered, but it was more than because of the cold. A little groggy and out of his depth, he stood up and walked over to the open door, a little unsteady on his feet. 

“Who killed our parents?”

_Stars come down in you_  
_And love, you can't give it away_

“Please be patient, Kei-ssi. We promise to answer all of your questions once—”

The door creaked open loudly with just a little nudge from Sunghoon and, eyes falling upon a square wooden table, the first thing that his eyes landed on was the boy of earlier who was seated right across his Kei-hyung. This time however, there was another boy leaning against a kitchen counter, his arms crossed. All of them turned towards his direction. 

“I’m awake.”

_Inside you the time moves_  
_And she don't fade_  
_The ghost in you_  
_She don't fade_  
_Inside you the time moves_  
_And she don't fade_

“Sunghoonie!”

Kei was out of his chair in a heartbeat, hovering over Sunghoon though his hands weren’t sure where to go and what to touch. 

“Hyung, where are we? What’s going on?”

The boy of earlier was the one who spoke up. 

“You’re in a safe house.”

Sunghoon took a moment to process those two words, having only heard them in movies or on the news. Slowly, he turned to Kei. 

“So they’re really… eomma and… appa?”

Kei’s expression twisted, like he was about to cry, but he took a very deep breath before opening his arms for an embrace. Sunghoon stepped forward right away, biting back tears. 

“Yes Sunghoonie,” Kei whispered, his voice rough. “I’m sorry.”

There was nothing for a while except for Sunghoon’s breaths, barely in his control, but eventually, he pulled away, looked first at his Kei-hyung’s haunted face before turning to the boy who’d helped them escape. His face was devoid of emotion, and so was the other boy’s. With nothing else to do, and crying wasn’t really an option in the face of strangers, it was time to get answers. 

Kei had waited long enough. 

“So you said you’d answer my hyung’s questions once I’m awake,” Sunghoon began, pulling back from Kei’s arms with a sniff. “I’m awake now.”

“Right. First thing’s first, I’m Sunoo and this is Niki. The guy earlier—”

Just then, another door creaked open loudly, thudded to a close just as quickly, and then an older boy was stepping into the room from what appeared to be a relatively short hallway, face as expressionless as the other two.

“I’m Jay,” he said, pushing back strands of blonde hair away from his face. “If you have questions, ask them now. We don’t have time—we have to go in under an hour.”

“Go?” Sunghoon was confused. Weren’t they already in a safe house? “Go where?”

“Later, Sunghoon-ah,” Kei said, pushing him toward the chair he’d been seated on and urging him to sit down. “Let’s find out who killed eomma and appa.”

Sunoo’s posture didn’t change where he was across the table, impeccable and proper. 

“We don’t know _yet._ But—”

Kei stepped forward to cut Sunoo off, bristling. “You said you’ll be answering our questions—!”

Jay placed himself between Kei and Sunoo, raising a hand to encourage the former into backing up. For someone who was a lot less taller than his hyung, Sunghoon couldn’t help but feel as if Jay was a lot more dangerous despite the height disadvantage. It was in the way he carried himself; Sunghoon couldn’t explain it. 

“That’s what we’re doing. No one said you were going to like the answers.”

Sunghoon was a little annoyed about the _I don’t know_ too especially after these three had made Kei wait so long, but there was obviously more to discuss. Sunoo didn’t appear as though he was finished talking, and so raising a hand, he yanked at his older brother’s arm to get his attention and calm him down. 

“Hyung, let them finish. I don’t think Sunoo-ssi was done.”

Kei glared down at Jay who didn’t flinch as he gazed back. The standoff lasted about a minute more before Kei eventually sighed, turning away to settle right behind Sunghoon. He placed his hands on the younger’s shoulders; a show of unity. It took several breaths before he spoke again. 

“Fine,” he eventually said and begrudgingly, glaring at the wall behind Sunoo. “Continue.”

Sunoo continued on as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “But the question you’re supposed to be asking first is this: who are your parents?”

Sunghoon narrowed his eyes, confused, and looked up to meet his hyung’s equally baffled gaze. 

“What do you mean, _who they are?_ What does that have to do with anything?”

The boy leaning against the counter, Niki, was the one who replied this time. 

“For the sake of accuracy, it’s actually who your parents _were._ Who they were and why they’re dead are related to each other.”

Kei’s patience was running thin. “Just get straight to the point, _please.”_

Jay stepped forward with a wave of his hand at Sunoo and Niki. It was obvious then who the senior was here since the other two merely nodded their heads as he took over. 

“Your parents were special agents, just like the three of us here. They had the same employer as we do now—a private agency that works with the government, especially when the cases blur the lines between legal and not quite.”

Sunghoon absently noted how Kei’s hands had tightened its hold on his shoulders, stunned into silence by the revelation. _Special agents._ His parents were what, spies? That was just… _no way._ No fucking way. 

Jay continued when he received no response. 

“Our agency deals with a myriad of things, but most common of them are terrorism, drugs, trafficking—the works. I won’t go into any details because the information is classified. The point is, your parents were involved in a lot of cases that involved these dangerous things, two of the best agents the agency has ever had, and because of that, unsurprisingly, they made a lot of people angry.”

“Wait.” Kei seemed to have come back to his senses, letting Sunghoon go and waving his hands as if he was trying, but having difficulty, expressing himself. “You said _were._ So they’re no longer active right?”

“They weren’t,” Niki confirmed with a nod, but he looked grim. “But it doesn’t matter. Even though they retired, had their own families, eventually met again and married, had you guys? The fact remains that they pissed off a lot of bad, powerful people.”

Sunghoon couldn’t believe it and had only one thing to say. 

“Wow.”

“It’s not as fancy as it sounds,” Jay immediately said, hands in his pockets and one foot against the wall he was leaning on. “It’s not like the movies either—not that dramatic. But it _is_ dangerous—it’s why we can’t tell you who killed them. Being the best of the best, we have a long list to go through. Your parents made a lot of enemies during their time.”

“So they didn’t meet during PTA?” Kei looked upset, gripping the back of Sunghoon’s chair, obviously bothered by the fact that whatever their parents had told them about who they were in the past had been nothing but lies. “They knew each other from way back?”

Sunoo chuckled. “They worked different headquarters so if they knew one another, it was just by their code names. But they did meet at your school’s PTA meeting, and that was the worst. Gave them a false sense of security, hope, that they could live a normal life together. It just made it easy for their common enemies to track them down.”

“So we’re in danger,” Sunghoon suddenly said, staring unseeingly at the synthetic wood of the table in front of him. His insides felt cold, a knot forming at the pit of his stomach. “We’re next. We’re going to die, too.”

“No.” Jay’s tone was solemn and firm as he straightened where he was, meeting Sunghoon’s perturbed gaze. “Not under our watch. The agency holds your parents at high regard; as much as we can, we’re going to make sure that nothing bad happens to either of you.”

Slowly, Sunghoon nodded his head. “So what’s the plan? Will Kei-hyung and I stay here?”

At his question, Sunghoon noted how all three agents looked at Kei. That was odd and a little troubling. Ill at ease, Sunghoon turned in his chair to look at his brother. 

Kei avoided his gaze. 

“Hyung?”

“Sunghoonie…” Kei swallowed before he continued, finally meeting his gaze. “For our safety, they need to keep us apart. We’ll be going our separate ways for a while.”

Sunghoon didn’t even let Kei finish what he was saying, pushing himself off the chair he was on with a manic shake of his head. Clutching the front of his older brother’s shirt, Sunghoon hated how desperate he sounded _but no._ They weren’t going to take his remaining family away from him. 

_“No. Hyung, no, we can’t be apart, what if—”_

Kei grasped his arms and then his hands, pried his fingers away from its hold on fabric, to embrace him. And without meaning to, with very little handle on his emotions after everything that happened, Sunghoon began to cry, clawing at Kei’s back and pleading with him. 

“Hyung, please, no, _don’t go,_ if something happens to you… _I can’t, I can’t…”_

Kei shushed him, arms tightening around his own trembling frame, and it almost felt like the only thing keeping Sunghoon from falling completely apart was this embrace. He wasn’t looking, but he knew his hyung was crying too, and why wouldn’t he? They’d lost their parents and now, they weren’t even sure if they were going to lose each other too. 

It felt like forever before they calmed down enough for Jay to speak again. 

“We’re taking all the necessary precautions to keep you safe. We intended to keep you together originally, but there was a change of plans. This wasn’t even the original safe house we were supposed to take you to.”

Only half listening and refusing to let go of Kei, Sunghoon allowed everyone else to talk amongst themselves, digesting all of the information they were giving him and his brother instead. 

“Why did the plans change?”

Sunoo broke character just then, seemed more like an ordinary, frustrated young man instead of what he really was, probably a highly skilled special agent himself. 

“We have a mole. When Niki and I found out the exact safe house we were supposed to bring you to, we had two of our juniors scope the place out, make sure it was safe. It wasn’t. Some shady people were there.” 

Kei held onto Sunghoon tighter. “Couldn’t it have been your people?”

Niki shook his head. “We checked, and it wasn’t, which is why this case will now operate on a need-to-know basis. Right now, only four of us know you’re here: Jay-hyung, Sunoo-hyung, myself, and the Boss. Our juniors, though involved earlier, are no longer part of the case; hence, what they know stops with their knowledge of the previous safe house. That’s how we’ll go moving forward.”

“So I won’t know where Sunghoon is,” Kei muttered, as if talking to himself. “You won’t tell us where each other is, will you?”

Sunoo nodded, looking apologetic. “Unfortunately, yes. It’s for your own safety.”

Jay looked at his watch then, stepped closer with a pointed look at Niki and Sunoo, before turning to the brothers. Sunghoon felt his stomach drop. 

“That being said, it’s time to go. The time I indicated on my report isn’t until about a couple of hours from now, but we’re not going to follow that timeline. Not yet sure what access our mole has, so let’s be one step ahead. Wrap up here and say your goodbyes—we leave in fifteen minutes.”

That being said, Jay turned around without a backward glance, heading out where he came in from, while Sunghoon began crying anew, looking up at Kei beseechingly, though he knew it was useless. They had no say in this, and even if they did, the plan made sense. Keeping the brothers apart would lessen the chances of either of them being found. 

“Sunghoonie.” Kei’s voice was shaky, but his hold on Sunghoon’s shoulder was firm and comforting, just like it had always been for years. “We have to make it through this, ok? You’ll stay safe, follow the agent assigned to you?”

Feeling pathetic and knowing he looked the part, Sunghoon wiped at his tears with the back of his hand as he nodded, feeling much like a small and helpless kid. 

“Ok hyung, I will. Take care of yourself too. I hope this ends soon—I’ll miss you.”

Kei laughed softly, the sound of it warm and fond, as he hugged Sunghoon tightly against his chest. The brothers remained locked in a hug for a while, savoring their final moments together for who knew how long. And then—

“Kei-ssi?”

They pulled away from one another, Sunoo staring at Kei expectantly. Sunghoon turned to look at Niki, expecting him to call his name, but instead:

“Sunghooon-ssi, you’re with me.”

Jay was peeking around the wall that led to the hallway, looking impatient. He even made a show of tapping at his watch. It annoyed Sunghoon a little. 

“Fifteen minutes is up. Let’s go.”

They stepped out of the safe house and into the darkness of the outside. Even though they had lights on within, all of the windows and drapes were shut: it was impossible to make out anything but outlines and silhouettes as the door closed, keeping all the light inside and not leaving anything for them. 

They stopped between the space created by two parked cars.

“Love you Sunghoonie,” Kei whispered, reaching for him, and Sunghoon lifted a hand, grasped his older brother’s own with a squeeze. He still felt like crying, but Sunghoon tried to get a grip, choosing to whisper the words right back. He meant them more than anything in the world. 

“Love you too, hyung.”

They climbed onto their respective vehicles, Kei on the backseat with Sunoo and Niki, Sunghoon on the passenger side with Jay. Kei and his special agents were the first to leave, gravel crunching against tires, the taillights a bright red in the everlasting gloom. Sunghoon watched their car go, one hand on the window’s surface, until it disappeared. 

And then, it was their turn. 

“You should try to get some rest. It’s going to be a long drive.”

Sunghoon sighed, wondered if he could even get a proper rest after everything he went through and what he found out, but before he knew it, he was gone. 

Thankfully, his repose was dark and dreamless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Just in case you don't know what the song is, it's an old one released in 1984:[ _Ghost In You_ by the Psychedelic Furs.](https://youtu.be/T87u5yuUVi8)**


End file.
